Amends
by pisces317
Summary: House accidentally gets too rough with Wilson while having sex and tries to make amends. Slash given, nothing graphic. Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: This fic came to me while I was trying to sleep last night, I hope you all like it! I'm not an expert with slash nor medicine so if things are wrong, I apologize!_**

**_AN2: Also, characters may not be Canon, if so, I apologize! Please review and let me know what you think!  
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**_Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing!

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**Chapter 1:**

Wilson walked through the front entrance of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, carrying his briefcase in his left hand and hunching slightly. He hoped to be able to go straight to his office and avoid the concerned questions by fellow coworkers since it's Monday and he has some work to catch up on that was left over from the weekend.

No such luck as Cuddy spots him and immediately heads over. "Wilson, are you ok?" She asks. Her mouth is in a frown, her brows are knitted and concern written in her grey-blue eyes.

"I'm fine," he assures her, "just hurt my back trying to pick up some boxes." He dismisses his injury with practiced ease.

Cuddy eyes him skeptically, but if she thinks he's lying, she doesn't comment. "OOOk." She replies as she drags out the word, "Well if you need anything let me know." She tells him sincerely as she gently squeezes his arm.

Wilson hides the wince as best as he can with a smile. He's thankful that it's November and therefore no one questions the use of a coat and keeping one's shirt sleeves rolled down, he doesn't want anyone to see the bruises on his arms. "Thanks, I appreciate that but I think I just want to get to my office and get caught up." He tells her.

She nods her head and walks away leaving Wilson free to go to the elevators and to the 4th floor where his office is. Normally he takes the stairs but with his back hurting he doesn't think that's a good idea. The elevator dings before opening the doors and he exits sparing a quick glance at the diagnostics office, happy to find the lights on but seemingly no one around, he doesn't want to run into House right now.

Wilson deposits his coat and briefcase in his office and dons his white lab coat before quickly heading to the doctor's lounge to get a cup of coffee that he found himself needing. The weekend, while wonderful, had been tiring and he was dragging this morning. He scurries as fast as he can back to his office, eager to get going on work and avoid House. He checks his calendar for the day to see what all he had to do and found that other than a few appointments he only had the normal patient rounds and clinic duty.

Wilson cringed inwardly. Neither patient rounds nor clinic duty were going to be particularly fun with his back but he figured if House can deal with the agony that he calls a thigh, Wilson can handle the twinges of back pain that he gets when he's walking around.

The combination of getting older and spending half of his adult life sleeping on random couches, crappy beds or sitting upright in a chair had made him more susceptible for back pain and Wilson usually found himself with an injury every 2-3months. It was easy for him to hurt it picking up simple things like a box or more complicated things like House. It was his fault really, he never used proper lifting technique and therefore tried to complain as little as possible when it happened.

He opened his bottom drawer and pulled out the heating pad he kept there for times like this, thankful that his white lab coat hid all signs of it as he didn't want his patients knowing about it. They're the patient and their attentions should be focused on themselves and their situations and not his aches and pains which were trivial compared to theirs.

Once he felt the heat radiating from the pad, he gently scooted back so that his back was against the pad, and in turn also against the back of the ergonomic chair, then rolled the chair forward so that he was close enough to his desk that he could return phone calls and emails and look over paperwork without much strain.

He checked his voicemail and began returning phone calls, taking small sips of coffee in between and wincing when the sleeves of his shirt pulled up and against the bruises on his arms. Wilson hated having his sleeves rolled down but given the hand-shaped bruises on his forearms that wasn't an option right now.

House's pain had been bad over the weekend, flaring up sporadically and usually leaving the diagnostician drained. In between the flare ups, House had been insatiable, using sex with Wilson to get out his frustration, anger and pain as well as a wonderful distraction. Unfortunately that meant that he was rougher with Wilson, leaving bruises in random places and in some places best not mentioned.

Wilson had managed to avoid seeing the diagnostician all morning, allowing him to catch up with work. Just as he was about to get up and go grab some lunch before his next appointment his door flung open.

"I'm hungry!" House announced.

"Ok." Wilson replied nonchalantly while keeping focused on the patient chart before him.

"Let's grab some lunch." House suggested, his tone saying _**Come on, I know you wanna do it all the other kids are!**_

"I'm busy." Wilson replied waving his hands across his desk like they illuminated the paperwork scattered all over it. He really wasn't THAT busy but House would think something's wrong with him if he gave in too easily.

"Oh come on. You can take a break from being James Wilson, Boy Wonder Oncologist and trying to save your bald headed kiddies for an hour to eat. We wouldn't want you fainting from lack of food now would we?" House cajoled.

"I didn't faint, I passed out." Wilson corrected insulted at the implication.

House sneered, "No Jimmy, you fainted like a girl. Even had the hand on your forehead to complete the look." He chuckled at the memory. House wouldn't admit it but when he got the call saying Wilson had fainted his heart skipped a couple beats and he found nothing funny about it at all until after he knew that Wilson was alright if not a little embarrassed.

Wilson just rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I did not."

"Did so, want me to show you the pictures?" House countered while pulling out his cell phone.

"You took pictures?" Wilson exclaimed a little surprised (and dare he say hurt) that House had thought to take pictures of him passed out on the floor instead of checking to see if he was ok. House was about to reply when Wilson held up a hand, "You know what? Nevermind, I don't want to know. If you're hungry why don't you go down and eat?"

House had a different question however, "Why aren't your sleeves rolled up?"

"Because I was cold." Wilson replied hoping he sounded convincing.

"You're never that cold." House countered while giving Wilson the "House Stare" he gave while he was trying to figure out a puzzle. _**This can't be good!**_ Wilson thought and tried to steer the conversation away from his appearance. "Fine," he said, "you're right." He paused long enough to let House think that he was going to get something out of him before he finished his sentence. "I can take a break for lunch. I'm assuming I'm buying?"

House sneered again, not planning on dropping the subject but knowing that he wasn't going to get anything out of Wilson right now and a full frontal assault wouldn't do the trick. "Duh, do you really think I'd waste money on you?" he joked. Both of them knew that House HAD and WOULD spend money on Wilson, it just wasn't a regular occurrence.

House watched Wilson like a Lion hunting it's prey, looking for any other signs of something being off. He didn't have to wait long as he saw Wilson wince when he stood up and grabbed his lab coat. House couldn't tell what was bothering him but he could tell SOMETHING was and he didn't like it.

Wilson began walking to the door, trying to hide his winces when his back zinged at the movement. He knew House was watching him, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and he didn't want to give House another piece. House would put things together sooner or later and Wilson hoped that it would be later rather than sooner.

He tried to inconspicuously use the walk to stretch out his back but one quick glance at House told him it wasn't working out well so he just gave up entirely.

"Back hurt?" House asked already knowing the answer. Cuddy had come to him sometime mid-morning and asked how Wilson had hurt his back. House was surprised to hear that Wilson HAD hurt his back but he had kept none of that from showing on his face when he'd told her that Wilson had tried to lift a box that was too heavy, figuring that's what Wilson told her. She nodded, looking satisfied with his answer and then asked House to keep an eye on Wilson and make sure he doesn't "over do it" then walked out of his office.

"It's fine." Wilson dismissed with an assuring grin and a wave of his hand. He really didn't want to discuss this with House. Contrary to what he told Cuddy, he hadn't hurt it lifting boxes. It had happened last night while Wilson was giving House head and House, being the kind to give physical instructions on what he wanted, had pushed a little too firmly on Wilson's shoulder, popping his back and straining it at the same time. The man was stronger than he looked! Wilson had gasped but House had taken it for a pleasurable gasp and said nothing and Wilson, being a people pleaser, had kept going while blocking out the pain. He hadn't really felt it until this morning. Oh the wonders of amazing sex!

House applied pressure to Wilson's lower back causing Wilson to gasp audibly enough for only House to hear, clench his teeth and grimace. House frowned, "Sure it's fine." He replied sarcastically.

"Just leave it alone House. I'm fine." Wilson warned trying to give his lover a pleading look while blinking rapidly, trying to keep a threatening tear from falling. His back had felt better after the heat and stretch but House had managed to find the spot that was still tender.

"No you're not but I'll leave it alone," House replied, digging into Wilson's fries, "for now."

Wilson had lost his appetite and allowed House to "mooch" off of his plate, waiting patiently for the diagnostician to finish. "Thank you." Wilson replied, knowing that an interrogation waited for him when he got home tonight.

House gave a barely perceptible nod before standing up and throwing their trash away and waited for Wilson to stand up and join him on leaving the cafeteria. Wilson gingerly got to his feet, the pain and tightness in his lower back making quick movements nonexistent, and joined House at the door noting the way House watched him with something akin to remorse in his eyes.

Just as they got to the elevator House got a page from his team, their patient had another unexplained symptom. House looked at his pager then turned to Wilson, "Get back to your office and get the heating pad on your back." He instructed the younger doctor, annoyance and concern flashing briefly across his face before he limped away to scheme with his team.

Wilson just shook his head while he boarded the elevator. Oh yeah, there was going to be a definite interrogation tonight and he wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

At 6p that night Wilson gingerly walked out of the clinic doing his best not to stoop, limp or rub at the stiff and painful muscles that had started to spasm while he was examining his last clinic patient. Thankfully, it had been easy for him to hide from his clueless patient and was able to send them away with a diagnosis of mild pneumonia and prescriptions for predinisone and an inhaler for when their asthma acted up due to complications from the pneumonia.

Wilson finally made it to his office, the 5minute walk taking a painstakingly 20minutes. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, his head leaning against the smooth wood and his eyes closed, catching his breath. The walk had tired him considerably since he had been focusing on moving his back as little as possible and yet still trying to seem like he was ok. He could tell that he failed miserably when he'd pass someone (a colleague, nurse or acquaintance) and they'd ask if he was alright. The nurses in Oncology had been the hardest to shake off having always adored and doted on him, but finally it seemed that they got the message and had left him alone after he promised to let them know if he needed anything. All he could think about was a heating pad on his back while he lay on the couch and rested for a few minutes before going home and being grilled by House.

He opened his eyes to begin his task only to jump, then gasp and cringe, when he saw House sitting on his couch. "House! What are you doing here?" he asked sounding more exhausted than mad.

"Hiding from my patient's family, they keep asking me questions." House replied disdainfully while continuing to thumb through the Oncology Medical Journal that had sat on Wilson's table.

Wilson smiled, there was a reason why House didn't meet the patients and this was one of them. "So you decided to camp out on my couch and read a medical journal on a topic that you could care less about?" Wilson replied sarcastically, "Makes sense."

"I thought so too." House said. He frowned when he finally looked up at Wilson and saw pain, fatigue and tears in the younger man's eyes. He hated seeing his lover and friend in such pain. Not only did it throw off the balance of life (HE was supposed to be the one in pain NOT Wilson) but he had a sneaky suspicion that he caused the most current pain by hiding in Wilson's office and surprising him. Guilt was not an emotion that he was comfortable with, not that he was comfortable with ANY emotion, and he did his best to avoid it.

House got up and led Wilson down to the couch noting the stiff movements and the way his friend's teeth were clenched and a solitary tear slid down his cheek. This was not how he liked to see Wilson at all. He reached up a hand and brushed the tear off Wilson's handsomely prominent cheek with his thumb before he stood up and grabbed the heating pad, plugging it in and applying it to Wilson's back while the Oncologist gently lay down on the couch obviously doing his best not to make a sound of pain.

Once Wilson was settled with the heat pad working and a pillow beneath his knees, taking pressure off his lower back, House stood up and walked out of the office and headed for his own. He sat down in his chair and began to pack what little he had planned on taking home with him while he called Cuddy.

"What House?" Cuddy said by way of greeting.

"Wilson and I need tomorrow off." He said, his tone not leaving room for argument, or so he hoped.

"Why?" Cuddy asked, clearly not planning on just taking his word for it.

"His back is pretty bad. He could barely move when he got back to his office just now." House answered not mentioning the crying that he was sure Wilson was doing when he left.

"Ok," she said, once again dragging out the word, "so why do YOU need the day off?" she asked.

"To take care of him. Duh!" House replied like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"I don't really think he needs you to stay home with him and take care of him." Cuddy said, clearly not wanting to let this go.

"Hey, you came to me earlier this morning and asked me to keep an eye on him and I can't do that if I'm at work and he's at home now can I?" House asked growing slowly more annoyed that she was refusing to let him take care of his injured lover.

Cuddy was silent for a while, obviously trying to decide if there was ANY way to get House to come in to work tomorrow. "Alright, fine." She responded with a sigh. "But you BOTH had better come in the next day or I'll be adding 10 more clinic hours to BOTH of your schedules." She threatened.

"Fine." House retorted before hanging up on her. He poked his head in the conference room and told the ducklings that he was leaving to take Wilson home and that he wasn't coming in tomorrow but they had better call if they need him.

Masters couldn't help herself, "What's wrong with Dr. Wilson?" she asked. "Is he ok?"

House rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Well obviously not if I'm taking care of him." He answered, smiling devilishly when she blushed slightly.

She wasn't going to be deterred however. "Is he ok?" she asked again while glaring at him.

"He's fine, just hurt is back." House replied with the world's biggest (and most exaggerated) sigh. He inwardly cringed when he saw her face morph from intrigue to full concern. "Oh not you too!" he exclaimed. "Is there NO female in this hospital that hasn't fallen for Wilson!" he cried dramatically though he inwardly meant it.

Masters blushed furiously but held his glare. "I did not fall for Dr. Wilson." She retorted petulantly. "I'm just concerned that he's in pain."

"Yeah, that's a requirement what with being a doctor and all." House quipped before rolling his eyes again.

"It's not a requirement, look at you." Chase pitched in smiling.

"Says the guy who "drove daddy's car"." House retorted using the same phrase he had used when he last mentioned Chase intentionally killing the foreign dictator in front of others. Chase's entire demeanor darkened but he said nothing in return.

Masters, who was totally lost on what was going on, replied, "No it's not a requirement but Dr. Wilson is a nice guy-"

"So what you're saying is only nice people shouldn't be in pain?" House cut her off.

"No, what I'm saying is that I hope he has someone that actually cares about him taking care of him." She replied. Her face went from what House refers to as the "Bambi Look" to utter shock. Clearly she hadn't meant to say that knowing full well that House and Wilson were in a relationship.

House sneered at her. "It's about time." Was all he said.

"It's about time what?" she asked stuttering slight. Still shocked but also confused.

"It's about time you found your backbone." House replied as he walked out of the office leaving a stunned Masters, an angered Chase, a curious Taub (who had sat quietly just watching the show) and a completely disinterested Foreman in his wake.


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: I'm going to give this chapter it's own warning. There's some adult content in it involving slash. Be warned! Please review and let me know what you think!

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**Chapter 2:**

House left the diagnostics department smiling widely. He had been waiting for Masters to grow some backbone (nobody can be THAT caring can they?) and she finally had. He stopped to grab a bottle of water and some Ibuprofen before heading back to Wilson's office knowing the Oncologist would need the pain relievers if he wanted to go home any time soon.

He walked in loud enough to announce his presence but not loud of enough to startle Wilson, he really didn't want a repeat of earlier. He dragged a chair next to he couch and handed the water and medicine to the younger man who had been watching his every move since he walked in.

Wilson gingerly and painfully sat up, taking the medicine and not really caring WHAT it was at the moment as long as it meant he could move without a significant amount of pain. He drained the whole bottle of water having been partially dehydrated all day and was thankful that House had thought to bring one with him and not just a cup.

The two men sat in their spots staring at each other. Neither said a word to the other but the silence wasn't uncomfortable, they'd learned how to be comfortably silent. Wilson was the one to break the silence, "You ready to go?" he asked, not necessarily anxious to get home but not wanting to sleep on the couch in his office either.

House gave one of his barely perceptible nods before standing gingerly himself and waiting to see if Wilson needed help. Wilson held out his had for House to grab which the older doctor did so without hesitation, his slender pianist fingers grabbing his wrist and pressing over one of the bruises on his arm.

Wilson yelped in surprise and pain, caught off guard by the contact, and House withdrew his hand like he'd been burned, his forehead creased in concern and curiosity.

"What's wrong with your arm?" House asked sternly.

"Just a bruise. I'm fine." Wilson replied holding his arm close to his body.

"Let me see it." House told him as he held out his hand. House only made it look like a request. If Wilson didn't willingly hand over his arm for inspection House would grab it himself albeit as gently as he could so as to not inflict more pain on Wilson.

Wilson rolled up his sleeve, ignoring House's small gasp of surprise, and handed House his arm knowing that House would grab it if he didn't. His arm had several purple-ish red, angry looking bruises in the shape of a handprint, the palm starting under his forearm by his wrist and the fingers snaking up to the top of his forearm.

House immediately let go of his arm, his face a mixture of shock, concern and horror. Wilson quickly replaced his shirtsleeve knowing that no matter how he covered it House would still see the bruise.

"How'd that happen?" House asked half accusingly.

Wilson flinched at House's tone, knowing that the accusation was aimed at him for not telling House. "Last night while we, you know." Wilson explained quietly.

The impact of Wilson's words hit House like a freight train hitting a small sheet of ice, knocking the air out of his lungs and causing him to slightly stumble back. Even though Wilson hadn't said that it was him that caused the bruising he knew it was. He didn't think he'd been rough with Wilson last night, how could he have done this?

"Look, it's fine, really. Can we just go home?" Wilson pleaded sensing House's frustration.

House nodded, "Fine but we aren't done talking about this."

"I'll just add it to the list of things we need to talk about." Wilson quipped with as much of a smile as he could give. Just standing there was causing his back to hurt and though the pain medicine had dulled the pain it still throbbed painfully.

"Damn straight." House responded while opening Wilson's door and waiting for him to exit first.

* * *

Wilson and House walked into their home, each tossing their belongings onto an armchair off to the side by the door. They had sold the loft and bought a new place when they got together, wanting to get away from the past and start anew (Wilson's idea of course). The ride home had been quiet (from both of them) and pensive (on House's side) creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Wilson walked into their bedroom, the decorations a mixture of House's blues style and Wilson's classic but homey style. He desperately wanted to get out of the work clothing and into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He thought about putting on a long sleeved shirt or a sweatshirt but he knew that trying to cover up the bruising was pointless.

He heard House's _step thump_ walk behind him, following him. He knew House was following him to get a better look at the bruising on what HE thought was only one arm and Wilson cringed at the thought of how House would react/feel when he saw the bruising on his other arm and chest, back and stomach.

Without acting like he heard House, Wilson began to strip starting with his pants. He unbuttoned them and let them fall to his ankles and then stepped out of them. He hated leaving his clothes in piles on the floor, unlike House, but he didn't think he could bend over just yet to pick them up. He then loosened his tie and tossed it on top of his pants and began to unbutton his shirt and shirt sleeves, gently shrugged out it and tossing it in the same pile as his tie and pants. Wilson heard House's gasps when the shirt revealed his two bruised arms contrary to just the one but said nothing, still pretending like he was alone. If he actually turned around to House and faced him, Wilson knew he wouldn't be able to continue. He didn't want to see the remorse and anger in House's eyes, he couldn't see it.

Wilson felt his strength waning and the pain medicine start to wear off so he grabbed his sweatpants and t-shirt and went over to their bed and gingerly sat down. He quickly slipped the sweatpants on, grimacing slightly at the pull on his back, and then prepared to take off his shirt and put the new one on, closing his eyes to gather the strength to do it. He probably should hop in the bath and let the heat relax his back but he knew that once he did that he'd go straight to bed which he couldn't do because House wanted to talk.

While Wilson had been getting his change of clothes and putting the sweatpants on, House had changed into sweats and a shirt and walked over to Wilson to help him with his shirt. House could see that Wilson was still in a good degree of pain and that he could barely move to put on his sweatpants. He knew that taking off the undershirt and putting on the t-shirt would be extremely painful for Wilson and so went over to help.

Wilson felt House lift his shirt and slide his arm out of his sleeve, carefully avoiding the bruises while he did so. House then slid the shirt over Wilson's head and continued to let it slide off Wilson's other arm. Wilson opened his eyes to say thanks in time to see House frown and stare at him accusingly while he gently palpitated the areas around the bruises.

Wilson winced whenever House hit tender spots, which were mostly on his back and around his ribs, but said nothing, letting House complete his examination. House stepped back and sat down next to Wilson once he was finished, the frown and accusing stare still on his face.

"Did those happen last night too?" House asked knowing that they did otherwise he would have noticed them.

"Yeah." Wilson answered quietly, bowing his head and closing his eyes. God he was so tired! He felt a hand on his thigh and quickly covered it with his own giving it a small squeeze.

"Why didn't you tell me?" House asked sincerely.

Wilson looked up into House's beautifully blue eyes and smiled slightly sadly. House's eyes showed the concern and sorrow that House felt but would never admit to. "Because it wasn't a big deal." He replied honestly and he truly believed it. It wasn't a big deal because he KNEW House hadn't meant to hurt him. House would NEVER hurt him on purpose just like he would never hurt House on purpose. Sometimes, accidents just happen.

"No big deal?" House growled, the anger at himself coming out in his tone causing Wilson to flinch slightly. "How is me leaving bruises on you not a big deal?" he exclaimed quietly.

"House," Wilson replied tiredly, "you didn't do it on purpose. It's fine, really." He said soothingly, placing a gentle hand on House's arm.

House looked into Wilson's eyes, seeing the beautiful chocolate brown eyes filled with pain, exhaustion and forgiveness. He shook his head, not knowing if he would be able to forgive himself. Suddenly he looked up at Wilson, "How did you really hurt your back?"

Wilson blushed furiously and lowered his head giving House all the answer he needed. House visibly flinched remembering when Wilson had gasped while giving House a blow job. House had taken it as a pleasurable gasp but now that House thought about it he had always suspected that it wasn't. Wilson's posture had visibly straightened and his movements became slow and stiff with concentration. House had been too wrapped up in his own pain and his need to escape it to care.

House ran a gentle hand over Wilson's face, tracing the definition of Wilson's cheek and jaw then gliding his thumb across Wilson's lips. Lips that he dearly desired to kiss but feared causing Wilson more pain. "I'm so sorry." He apologized sincerely, hoping that his expression showed just HOW sorry he was.

Wilson placed a hand over House's, taking the hand off his face and placed his own on House's face. "I know, it's ok." He assured just before he pulled House toward him and kissed him passionately.

House returned the kiss ten fold, bringing his hand up and pulling Wilson closer to him, groping him.

"Mm!" Wilson yelped in his mouth before pulling back with a grimace and hiss of pain. He placed his right hand on his back and gently tried massaging it while stretching it at the same time.

House slightly shook his head, reprimanding himself. He should have been more careful! He turned to Wilson, who was watching him intently, "You should take a hot bath. I'll order some dinner while you're in there. Chinese sound good?"

Wilson grinned tiredly, "Thai sounds better."

House smiled and nodded. He stood up and went in to the bathroom and started running the water for Wilson's bath, making it hot enough to relax the stiff and spasming muscles but not hot enough to burn. He poured in some of the bubbles that Wilson was so fond of when he soaked and walked away quickly grabbing some Ibuprofen for himself while he was in there. It had been a few hours since he'd taken any and his leg was starting to scream at him. He dried swallowed them while he watched Wilson gingerly get out of his sweatpants. House walked over to his lover and gently pulled Wilson in for another passionate kiss before he left to order food, leaving Wilson to climb into the hot but soothing bath.

* * *

Wilson smiled gratefully when House left while he pulled off his underwear and gingerly climbed into the bathtub, groaning in relief when he felt the hot water begin to sooth his sore muscles. There was another part of Wilson that was bruised that House had not seen and if at all possible he was going to keep it that way.

He leaned back in the bathtub and closed his eyes, letting the hot water do it's job. He thought about House's reactions throughout the day. Most people assumed the taciturn diagnostician didn't care about anyone, including Wilson, but a few knew the truth. Besides himself, Wilson was the only other person House trusted and would do anything for. He had seen the remorse and utter sorrow in House's eyes when he had finally puzzled through things and put them together. House had looked like he wanted to cry at the thought of causing Wilson pain but he had managed to keep the tears from flowing. While he hated seeing that in his lover's face it had also warmed Wilson's heart.

Truth be told, sometimes Wilson wondered if House had really cared about him even though they were in a relationship. House isn't the kind of person to verbalize his feelings and as "actions speak louder than words" sometimes his actions didn't speak quite loudly enough for Wilson's liking. He wasn't an insecure man really but sometimes it was nice to hear that he meant something to the older man and the emotions that had flowed from House's eyes had told him just HOW much Wilson meant to him.

Wilson sighed contentedly, finally feeling his back loosen to where he could move without stabbing pain spiking through his back. He heard the _step thump_ of House's walk come into the bathroom and wondered why he had come back. He felt hands touch his shoulders and then begin to gently knead the sore muscles of his back. Wilson groaned again, savoring the feel of House's hands on his skin.

"Feel good?" House asked huskily. He loved touching Wilson. It felt like his nerve endings came alive, zinged and exploded with pleasure every time.

"Yeah." Wilson replied sounding relaxed.

House leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the back of Wilson's neck. He moved his hands from Wilson's back and began massaging his lovers arms while he worked his kisses to the crook of the neck, nipping slightly every now and then.

Wilson let out a pleasurable moan and growled. Oh how he wished he wasn't hurting right now, there were so many things he'd like to do to House right now! "House-" he began before House cut him off.

"Just relax and enjoy it." House told him silkily, moving his position from Wilson's back to his front as best he could while Wilson was in the tub. "How about some company to help you relax?" he suggested.

Wilson smiled, "Yes please, I may need someone to show me how to, what's the phrase? 'relax and enjoy it'?"

House half chuckled while he undressed and slid in behind Wilson. Thankfully the water was still quite warm, relaxing his thigh as well as Wilson's back. He gently pulled the younger man against him, letting him lean totally into him while he ran his hands over Wilson's thighs, heading closely toward "Little Jimmy".

Wilson moaned deep in his throat, his right hand gently massaging House's right thigh while he left dug a little deeper into the healthy muscle. God he felt so good! He felt House getting hard and smiled when he returned the feeling.

House felt the tell tale hardness against his hands and began to gently rub, wanting to make the pleasure last as long as he could. When Wilson kept moaning at his touch, House began to increase pressure and speed. Wilson gave a pained gasp and House stopped immediately. "What is it?" He asked concerned he hurt Wilson worse.

"N-n-nothing," Wilson replied imploringly, "just keep it gentle." He instructed his partner.

House grew curious but did as he was told, keeping his stroking gentle and steady. When he felt his lover tremble beneath him, House leaned in, whispering "How about we go to bed?" in his ear.

Wilson let out another moan before he replied, "Food?"

"Won't be here for an hour, I made sure of it." House replied smiling.

"M-maniuplative Bitch." Wilson quipped returning the smile just before moaning again. He was having trouble holding his desires in and bucked his hips, thrusting his dick in House's hands. The movement had the opposite effect it was meant to have however. Instead of immense pleasure he felt stabbing pain throughout his back and throbbing pain in his penis when the action caused House to apply pressure to the bruising around it. He cried out at the pain and grimaced.

House immediately let go. "Wilson?" he asked, alarm and concern coloring his voice.

"I'm ok." Wilson panted, waiting for the pain to stop. "Stupid move."

"Is it your back or something else?" House asked, ignoring his comment.

"Both." Wilson replied, collapsing back gently against House.

House didn't comment, merely nodded. "Come on, let's get you out of here and in bed." He said. "The water's too cold to do your back any good anyway."

Wilson grimaced while he moved to climb out, figuring he needed to give House a hand out. "I don't know if I'm up for more than just laying there and possibly eating." He informed his lover, wanting to give him full warning not to expect much.

"I know." House told him gently. Maneuvering himself out of the tub with practiced ease while Wilson started drying himself off. He got his arms done before House gently grabbed the towel away from him and proceeded to dry him off, being extra gentle around the bruises and with Wilson's back in general.

House normally just wraps a towel around his waist and let's himself air dry but Wilson was bit more particular and preferred to be toweled dry. When he went to dry Wilson's lower half the man in question stopped him. "You don't have to do that House. I can just wrap a towel around my waist and leave it alone."

House frowned. Either Wilson was really hurting or there was something he didn't want House to see and neither scenario sat well with House. "Is there something you're trying to hide?" House asked knowing he wouldn't get a truthful answer.

"No." Wilson answered so quietly it was almost said under his breath. "But my back is killing me and it's beginning to get harder to stand upright." Wilson countered.

House couldn't argue with that so he nodded and sat down on the toilet to do as the younger man asked. While he was wrapping the towel around Wilson, House noticed the bruising on his partner's penis. It wasn't deep or horrible but it was there. House looked up at Wilson's face to see him blushing once again and giving House a small smile of apology for not telling him.

House swallowed his horror at how he's treated Wilson lately, albeit without meaning to but that didn't ease the guilt any, and quickly wrapped the towel around Wilson's waist and helped him into bed.

Wilson couldn't hold back the little groans and whimpers of pain that escaped his lips while he walked to the bed. His back hurt so bad he just wanted to cry. Just when he thought he was going to House handed him some Aleve and another bottle of water, guilt slightly coloring his eyes.

Wilson took the pills and downed them with half the bottle of water. "Thanks" he told his lover gratefully. House said nothing, just began to pull out the heating pad from the side table drawer and plugged it in. After it heated up, House laid the pad on the bed and helped ease Wilson down onto his, grabbing a pillow and placing it below Wilson's knees as well as his head.

House sat down on the side of the bed next to Wilson and ran a hand over Wilson's face, caressing it, before he leaned down for a soft kiss. He pulled away with a slight grimace of his own which immediately perked up Wilson's overprotective side. "Is your leg ok?"

"It's fine, just a long day." House replied while rubbing the ruined muscles.

"You should sit in bed with me, it'll be more comfortable than the couch." Wilson told him in full mother-hen mode.

"Then who will get up for the food?" House countered with a slight smile. "Don't worry about me, just worry about yourself." House dismissed while he got up to leave.

"How do you expect me to worry about me when I'm already worrying about you?" He countered.

House sneered, "Exactly." He said before he walked out of the room, leaving Wilson to ponder what he meant.


	3. Chapter 3

**_AN: Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been a little busy. Thanks to all whom have reviewed! I really appreciate it and am SO glad that you are enjoying it. I'm not good at writing characters IC but I hope they aren't too far off. :o)

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**Chapter 3: **

House limped to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and plopped down on the couch. He turned on a Monster Truck Rally and hardly listened to it while he let his thoughts drift to the man in the bedroom.

James Wilson is an amazing man but he's also a people pleaser. Often trying to please everyone else at his own expense and in turn his own health (and sometimes happiness) gets ignored.

This weekend was a perfect example. House was in agony half of it and the other half he was so drugged up and drunk that all he wanted to do was Wilson or sleep, usually in that order. They fuck and then fall asleep physically spent. Wilson would wake up before House and make sure that the older doctor ate and drank but most of the time they were in bed. Sunday morning House's thigh sent spasms of agonizing pain throughout his body the entire morning. Wilson had tried his best to ease the pain but ultimately it came down to the drugs, alcohol and a heating pad that really helped. Wilson's job was to help House forget about the agony he had just experienced by causing extreme physical pleasure and bending to House's will, which he did easily and readily. Now, because of those drugs and alcohol, House found himself having trouble fully performing so he pushed himself harder while still favoring his leg. Apparently he had also pushed Wilson hence the bruises and back pain.

House felt so many things that he didn't know which one to focus on. His first thought was "I'm not a selfless person and Wilson knows that, I shouldn't have to apologize."

A nagging voice in his head, which sounded suspiciously like his conscience, replied _"You moron! Do you see the bruises you left on him and how badly his back hurts? YOU caused that!"_

"Not intentionally." His mind replied automatically.

"_Like that makes it ok? If somebody notices the bruising they are going think he was abused! He has to be extra careful of how he reacts when people touch him in case they should touch a place he's bruised and cause him unintentional pain. Sure, he can disguise his hurt back by saying he hurt it picking up a box but we both know that if ANYONE saw the handprints, they'd be tempted to report abuse and not trust YOU near him again." _

House winced as the words his conscience told him echoed through his head. He really hadn't meant to hurt his friend and lover and he'll never forgive himself for doing it. While House had never been a selfless person, Wilson had the uncanny ability to bring out his softer side and therefore his selfless side, often disregarding his own comfort for the sake of Wilson's needs. Usually it wasn't that much of a sacrifice since Wilson being Wilson also made sure that House was ok before he settled somewhere.

He berated himself for not noticing how much physical pressure he had put on Wilson and instead paying too close attention to his own needs and wants. It wasn't normally like him to do that while they made love, because as cheesy as it sounds that is normally EXACTLY what they were doing, but this weekend had been hellish and he just wanted a good fuck and to escape. He hadn't wanted to worry about anyone else. He hadn't wanted to care about anyone else. Sunday night he had just wanted to focus on himself and his own needs and wants and because of that, Wilson was laid up in bed and in a fair amount of excruciating pain.

_**IDIOT!**_ He berated himself again mentally. He took another swig of his beer which was rapidly turning warm. "I'll just have to figure out a way to make it up to him." House told himself, quickly making a determined decision to make things right again, hoping it would help dissolved the bitter taste of guilt.

House turned his attention back to the Monster Trucks and decided that he had a couple of days to come up with a plan, knowing that Wilson would need to be home and off his feet and that he couldn't very well plan anything or put it into action while around Wilson.

* * *

Wilson lay in bed, letting the heat relax his back. The muscles had stopped spasming for now and he found himself finally able to breathe out an easy breath. He let his mind wander and found himself thinking about what House had implied before he left the room.

He supposed that he meant that it was hard for the diagnostician to focus on himself while he's busy worrying about Wilson. Wilson felt a stab of pain clench his heart. He hadn't meant to make House worry about him, he really was fine. He knew that House was mad at himself for the hurt he caused Wilson but Wilson really DIDN'T blame House at all. He just wished he knew how to make House understand that.

Wilson hoped that his back felt better tomorrow so that he could prove to House that he was fine and things were fine. He was resolved to act like nothing was wrong and, just as he was falling asleep, he wondered if he could pull it off.

* * *

Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny, nearly blinding Wilson with the rays that poked through the curtains. Wilson scrunched his face and squinted, trying to keep the UV Rays from entering his retinas. He spared a glance at the clock and threw his arm over his face, deciding if he should try to attempt to go to work. He knew that House had taken the day off for the both of them but Wilson always felt compelled to go in unless it was one of his days off.

He gently moved, hoping not to wake House up, determining how his back felt. He was relieved to find that it felt better. LOTS better compared to last night but it still ached and twinged, letting him know that it was a bad idea to attempt to go in today since he wouldn't be of much use.

Wilson gingerly rolled over onto his right side and scooted closer to his lover, throwing his left arm around the older man's stomach and fell back asleep instantly.

* * *

House woke up extremely warm. He wondered if he was getting sick before he noticed Wilson's arm around his stomach and the younger man curled up against him, sleeping soundly. House debated whether or not to wake him but since he needed to get up and pee and he didn't think the position was good for Wilson's back he decided it was inevitable.

"Wilson." He said.

"Mmm." Wilson replied sleepily while tightening his grip on House, his grip not tight enough to hurt but tight enough to where House couldn't move without difficulty.

"I need to get up." House told him.

"K, so get up." Wilson mumbled.

"I can't, you've got an iron arm over me." House growled.

House felt the grip loosen enough to where he could slip out from under it and proceeded to the bathroom, pausing only to take a couple Vicodin first. When he came back, Wilson had moved back over to his side of the bed, sleeping on his left side.

House crawled back in bed and scooted to the middle of the bed, his long arms allowing him to pull Wilson closer to him. Wilson slightly groaned in pain in his sleep but settled down quickly and continued to sleep peacefully.

House gave him a gentle hug and settled his head down on his pillowing, breathing in the wonderful scent of Wilson as he fell back asleep.

* * *

When Wilson next awoke, he was comfortably curled up with House. The diagnosticians arm draped over Wilson's stomach and curled under his side. House's hand was pressed against a tender bruise but Wilson left it where it was. He wasn't in any hurry to move and the pain from the bruise was downplayed by the pain his is back. Wilson remembers pain flaring up in his back while he was sleeping but he doesn't remember why. Judging by the position he's in, he assumed that House had pulled him closer, bending his back and stretching the muscles that weren't ready to be stretched.

He breathed a sigh of contentment and closed his eyes again, listening to the sounds of his friend behind him. He wasn't tired but it was nice to just concentrate on that steady pattern and drift off into another world.

"Good Morning." House greeted, startling Wilson out of his thoughts.

"Good Morning." Wilson said, returning the greeting. "Are you hungry?" House's stomach growled effectively answering for him. "I'll make you some pancakes."

"Oh no you won't." House replied, tightening his grip around Wilson causing him to wince and refrain from jumping.

"Why not? You don't want them?" Wilson asked.

"No, because it's warm and comfortable here in bed and I don't want you to leave." House replied, intentionally leaving out the part where he was worried about putting too much stress on Wilson's back.

Wilson rolled over onto his other side, wincing as he did so. "Well I guess we could lay here some more. I could thing of lots of fun things to do while in bed." He replied as his beautiful brown eyes gained a mischievous yet sexy glint.

"So could I," House replied, "none of which are we going to do right now."

Wilson frowned, "Is your leg bothering you?" he asked.

House rolled his eyes. Of course the idiot would be more concerned about House's leg than himself. "No, my leg is fine." He replied annoyed. "We aren't going to do anything because we aren't going to put more stress on your back."

Now it was Wilson's turn to roll his eyes. "House, I'm fine. My back is fine, it doesn't even hurt really, it's just a bit stiff."

"Well then you're more than welcome to stretch it out but we aren't having sex today and don't give me those puppy dog eyes." House scolded as his friend began to do just that. "I am not going to be responsible for you not being able to move and being in agony for the rest of the day. Plus, Cuddy will kill me if I don't have her star Oncologist back to work soon. She already threatened me with more clinic hours!" House exclaimed with a tone that hinted that she'd threatened with bodily harm and rather than his job. He left off the part where Cuddy had also threatened WILSON with more clinic hours.

Wilson smiled and laughed. "Yes, God forbid you should do your actual job." He replied. "Well, I don't know about you but I AM hungry and I DO want pancakes." He said as he gingerly rolled out of bed, stretching his back a little before he got up and walked, barefoot, into the kitchen.

House continued to lay in bed, not in any hurry to get out of it. It wasn't until the smell of Wilson's amazing macadamia nut pancakes and bacon wafted into his room that House dragged his body out of bed and padded into the kitchen.

He walked in silently and watched Wilson cooking, still moving stiffly but better than he had last night. "Those had better be for me." House replied as he eyed a huge stack of pancakes, startling Wilson slightly.

"Yep! I'm currently making my own." Wilson replied while he handed House the syrup and placed a fresh plate of bacon on the counter.

They each ate their own stacks of pancakes and pieces of bacon quickly. House headed towards the living room while Wilson cleaned up and put the dishes into the dishwasher. House never dared to do dishes, even IF he wanted to. Wilson had a specific system and even though House knew it he thought it better to leave it up to Wilson.

Wilson finished and headed towards the couch, curling up with House to watch whatever soap opera House had put on. Wilson lay on his right side with his head resting on House's left thigh.

House found it odd that Wilson had opted to lie down on the couch rather than sit on it and cuddle up with him that way. "How's your back?" He asked casually while he waited for a commercial break to end.

"It's fine, why?" Wilson asked knowing that House had a reason for asking at that specific time. In truth, his back did hurt but he wasn't about to tell House that.

"You don't normally lay down when it's still daylight out." House replied.

"Just decided to take advantage of the mostly empty couch." Wilson said as he began to sit up, grimacing as he did so.

"Uh huh, so you just grimaced for the fun of it?"

Damn him for being so perceptive! "House, I'm fine." He tried to reassure the older man. "Oh look, commercial's over!" He said, switching his attention from himself to the tv and hoping that House would do the same.

It didn't work. House turned off the tv and stood up, gently pulling Wilson up with him. "Come on, back to bed."

"What? It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I can't go to bed." Wilson protested.

"You don't have to sleep but it will be better on your back than the lumpy couch." House told him, still guiding the younger doctor to the bedroom. "Besides," he continued as he leant into his lover's ear, "if you're good, I may break out the baby oil and rub your back."

"Promise?" Wilson purred silkily.

"Yeah, now go get in bed while I grab the baby oil." House commanded.

Wilson just smiled but obeyed and gently eased his aching body onto the bed, taking off his shirt and sweatpants before doing so. He lay on his stomach, listening for signs of House coming to bed and smiled when he heard them and then felt the bed dip slightly from the other man's weight.

House scooted over, admiring the look of Wilson's soft skin before he poured oil onto his hands and began to knead the tense muscles. He sat by Wilson's butt so he could easily get to Wilson's back but still rest his leg.

Wilson cried out and hissed when House hit a tender spot but tried to keep relaxed, knowing that the pain of massaging the knot out would be worth it.

"Sorry." House replied while trying to gently knead the knot.

"It's ok." Wilson assured him. He felt House move from his back to his legs and eventually his feet. He moaned in pleasure as he felt muscles that he didn't even know ached relax and then swiftly fell asleep.

* * *

Wilson hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until he woke up to total darkness in the room. He looked up at the clock and practically jumped out of bed when the time read 7pm. He quickly regretted the action however as his back began to protest the fast movement. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been earlier and Wilson was grateful that the massage had helped as much as it had.

He pulled on his clothes and padded out into the living room, squinting when the bright light assaulted his vision.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." House quipped. He sat on the couch, watching some random infomercial. "How's your back?"

"Better, thanks." Wilson replied genuinely as he went over and joined House on the couch. "Have you had dinner?"

"A little food obsessed are we? First it was breakfast and now it's dinner, are you trying to fatten me up?" House answered.

"Nope, just trying to make sure that I keep the love handles that you love so much by making sure that I fix enough food for you as well as myself." Wilson replied.

House caressed his cheek, slightly pulling him toward the older doctor. "You don't have love handles." He said giving Wilson a look that made his skin crawl with pleasant anticipation.

They kissed each other passionately and fiercely, not wanting to part or stop. The doorbell chiming startled Wilson into stopping.

House gave him a mischievous smile, "Besides, I have already ordered." He said as he got up and limped to get the food.

He came back carrying a bag of Chinese, placing it on the coffee table and unpacking it's contents. They ate while they watched Emeril Live after which Wilson cleaned up the containers and throwing them away in the trash.

House guided him back to the bedroom claiming that if Wilson fell asleep on the couch he all of his good work would be undone. They each sat propped against pillows in bed reading until they fell asleep.

_All in all,_ Wilson thought, _a pleasantly boring but relaxing day. _He fell asleep with a smile on his face and curled up with House who also had a smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: Alright, here is chapter 4. I hope you all like it and I look forward to reviews (hint hint). Thanks to those who have reviewed!

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**Chapter 4:**

Wednesday morning House and Wilson walked into PPTH, each matching the other's stride easily. Wilson was still sore but moving with much improvement. He and House headed to their own offices to begin their work, each having a busy day planned.

Wilson locked himself in his office for the first couple of hours, refusing to do anything but return phone calls, emails and consults. At 11a he had his first appointment, Mrs. Reed. Her cancer was in remission and she cried happy tears and gave him a bear hug, causing him to wince but he doesn't say anything.

His next appointment is at 1130a. He sat patiently still while he told Ms. Lynne that she had terminal breast cancer and she cried on his shoulder. He advised her of her options for pain control and where to go from here and walked her to the reception area, desperately needing to stretch out his back.

His client didn't notice his slightly hunched position as he walked beside her. She was too focused on what to do with her life, what little she had left of it. His secretary did notice however.

"Are you alright Dr. Wilson?" She asked once Ms. Lynne had left, her concern written deeply in her bright green eyes.

"I'm fine. Just needed to stretch a bit." He appeased while he stood up straighter, hiding the slight wince.

He walked away before she had a chance to object or call him out and headed straight for House's office, knowing the diagnostician was probably hungry and his team probably needed a break.

He got to the diagnostics department and slipped quietly into House's office, sitting down in his yellow recliner and placing his feet up on the ottoman while he waited for House to finish giving his team instructions.

The softness of the recliner felt really good on his back and just as he was about to drift off, he felt House whack him hard on the bottom and side of Wilson's right foot with his cane as he limped passed Wilson and sat down at his desk. Wilson yelped but House didn't hear it, he was too busy shuffling things around.

"What are you doing here?" House asked lightly as he began filling in his patient's chart.

Wilson grimaced at the pain in his foot and ankle but answered just as lightly, "I'm hungry and I have a break in my schedule. I thought you'd want to join me for lunch."

House looked up from his writing and stared at Wilson, regret in his eyes. "Sorry," he said with a slight shake of his head, "can't. I have to finish writing this and then I have to head to the clinic. I'm leaving early today so I have to get the torture out of the way early."

Wilson frowned and his forehead creased as his eyebrows knit together. "You didn't tell me you were leaving early. Where are you going?"

"Home." House answered succinctly.

"Are you ok? Is your leg bothering you?" Wilson asked alarmed that there was something wrong with his partner.

"My leg's killing me today." House answered, faking extreme fatigue and pain. It wasn't EXACTLY a lie, his leg was killing him thanks to spending too much time on his couch and the constant walking back and forth between his patient's room and his office.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Wilson asked, concern radiating off his entire being.

"Nah, Cuddy's giving me a ride." House answered while rubbing his eyes.

"Ok." Wilson answered hesitantly while he stood up. He limped over to House to give him a brief kiss before heading back to work. Since House wasn't going to join him there was no need for him to actually go to lunch. He'll just take something back to his office.

"What's wrong with you?" House asked half accusing have concerned.

"You whacked me HARD in the foot with your cane and now it and my ankle hurt." Wilson whined exasperatedly.

House winced, "Sorry. Didn't think I did it that hard. Guess I was taking out some frustration."

"Oh that makes everything all better." Wilson grumbled as he bent down and gave House a quick kiss.

"That's all I get?" House complained.

"My foot and ankle hurt because of you and my back is starting to hurt. Bending down for too long would make it hurt more and I'd like to avoid more pain." Wilson told him. He was actually annoyed with House for hitting him so hard. His foot and ankle throbbed painfully in time with his heartbeat and he just wanted to sit down and take some weight off his leg. He didn't think they were hurt too bad (probably just another bruise to add to the collection) but that didn't make them hurt any less.

House's eyes softened considerably but all he did was give a slight nod and say, "Ok. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tonight. Go home and rest. Stay off your feet, use the heating pad." Wilson instructed, unable to stop himself from caring. He limped out of House's office and went to his own, locking both the main door and the balcony door before he sat down at his desk and began paperwork.

* * *

House watched Wilson go with a heavy heart. He hated lying to Wilson, making him worry unnecessarily but it was important to his plan to make amends that he do so. He wasn't lying, however, when he said that Cuddy was going to be taking him home. She was, just not directly there. He had a few stops to make first. THAT was the reason he was doing clinic so early and willingly. Well, maybe willingly wasn't the right word since Cuddy had only said she'd help IF he did clinic duty for 3hrs. Just another manipulative bitch in his life, not that he was complaining since he was one as well.

He frowned as his mind played back the image of Wilson limping out of his office. House hadn't meant to hurt the younger man again and he honestly doesn't know how he did. He's hit Wilson before with his cane (like when Stacy left again) and he's never caused more than a small bruise, so what happened this time? House grew intrigued but knew he didn't have time to figure it out so he grudgingly stood up and limped off for clinic duty.

He knew Wilson's medical history practically by heart anyways so it isn't like he'd actually need to look at the records. Though if he did all he had to do was pull them out of his desk and walk into the clinic with them and read the records instead of whatever patient he has' records.

A light figuratively clicked on in House's head and before he left his office he grabbed Wilson's records and took them with him. Maybe this way he'd have to see less patients!

* * *

WRONG! He had to see just as many patients as he thought he had because they were all idiots and could've saved themselves the trip and time and just used some common sense and some Tylenol. Morons! They shouldn't be allowed to reproduce!

House limped up to his office, checking on Wilson through his balcony door and upon not seeing the oncologist at his desk proceeded to pack his things up for the day. He wanted to check on Wilson however so he stopped by and after finding the door locked he kept walking. Wilson must be doing his rounds or with a patient. He often locks his door when he's got a patient to keep House from barging in, though they both know it doesn't actually work. House always finds a way in!

He spotted Cuddy at the Help Desk by the front doors and went right up to her, greeted her with a head nod and then walked off knowing full well where she parked her car. It does have a BIG sign on the parking spot after all.

They both got into her car and as she started the car she asked, "Ok where to first?"

* * *

4 hours after his meeting with House, Wilson walked back into his office after having just finished his patient rounds and was limping heavier than when he left. His ankle had become swollen and painful to walk on and his foot throbbed incessantly. His back hurt from all the standing and walking awkwardly and all he wanted to do was lay on his couch for the next couple of hours.

He checked his watch and noticed that it was about time for his clinic duty at 5p for an hour. While an hour wasn't really all that long, he wasn't sure he'd be able to do it while he heavily favored one leg. True, House does it all the time, however he also has a cane and Vicodin to help and Wilson has neither. He'd just get his ankle checked out but then he wouldn't be able to do clinic duty either and it seemed like a waste of the doctor's time since he'll be going home soon and can take care of it himself then.

So, instead he calls to say that he can't make it figuring they won't challenge him because they know about his back injury but is surprised when the nurse tells him that Dr. House has already informed them that Dr. Chase will be doing his clinic. He thanks the nurse and wants to find Chase and apologize for House making him do it and to thank him so he grudgingly limps over to the diagnostics department thankful that Chase is there and no one else.

"Hey Chase." Wilson greets.

Chase jumps slightly before turning around to find Wilson leaning uncomfortably against the door frame. "Wilson, don't worry, I was just about to go down to the clinic." Chase tells him while he begins packing up his things to leave.

"No that's not what I'm here for." Wilson replied while he quickly stood up straight, wincing at the pressure it places on his ankle. "I just wanted to thank you for going. I'm sure you didn't want to."

Chase notices his wince and frowns, "Are you alright?" he asks concerned.

"I'm fine. House hit me with his cane earlier and it still hurts." Wilson dismissed with a wave of his hands towards House's office..

Chase nods. "Well don't worry about clinic, I don't mind really. I haven't got anything better to do anyways." He reassures the older doctor. "Besides, it doesn't look like you'd be up to it anyways."

Wilson smiles, "Well, thanks anyways." He says, laughter colouring his voice.

He begins his slow limp back to his office, missing Chase pulling out his phone and sending a quick text.

Once he's back in his office, he immediately spreads out on the couch, placing a pillow below his hurting ankle and closing his eyes. It isn't 10 minutes before he hears a knock on his door. He groans and sits up, telling whoever it is to "Come in."

Lisa Cuddy walks in wearing a pair of jeans and v-neck t-shirt, her hair slightly mussed while in a ponytail. Clearly she'd been off work for awhile, so why is she knocking on Wilson's door?

"How are you?" She asks. Her grey eyes filled as deeply with concern as they were when he walked in Monday morning.

"I'm fine." He replies automatically. Dang it! He's going to have to stop doing that one of these days.

She raises a skeptical eyebrow and sits down on a chair across from him. "Really? Because Chase says that you were limping pretty heavily when you left 20 minutes ago."

_BUSTED!_ Wilson shakes his head slowly. "I'm fine really. Like I told Chase, House hit me with his cane earlier and it's still tender."

"What is it?" she presses. Obviously she isn't going to let this go.

"He whacked my foot and it caused my ankle to turn slightly but awkwardly." He told her, a hint of resignation in his voice.

Cuddy's eyebrows knit together in concern. "Are you alright?" she asks again but hoping she'll get a truthful answer this time.

"I'll be fine." He tells her hoping it will satisfy her and get her to leave him alone.

"Swelling?" She asks instead, the doctor in her coming out. "Pain scale?"

"Yes, in the ankle at least and about a 5 or 6. I have never been good with the pain scale. For all I know it really isn't that bad and I just have a low tolerance for pain." He replies.

She gives him a one eyebrow raise. "You've put up with House for how long? I think you have a higher tolerance than you give yourself credit for." She jokes making him laugh. "Let me see your ankle." She instructs.

"No, I'll be fine once I get home and, House willing, I can stay off my feet." He replies. While his body language is still relaxed, if not exhausted, his tone is clearly that of someone who's crossing their arms and planting their feet firmly on the ground.

Cuddy sits quietly for a moment, studying him. "Will you be ok to drive?" She asks.

Wilson pauses. He hasn't thought of that. While his ankle isn't broken it is painful to put pressure on and it is the right one which means constant pressure for the gas and brake. He hesitates slightly before replying, "Yes."

"Ok." She says while Wilson releases a quiet breath of relief. "I'll walk you out." She tells him while standing up and waiting for him to join her.

Of course she didn't believe him! Now she wants to see how he walks to determine for herself if he should drive home.

He slowly stands up, gingerly stretching his back while doing so to give it time to loosen before he starts walking. He slips his coat on over his suit jacket and grabs his briefcase which is sitting at the end of the couch so he doesn't have to bend over too far to get it.

Cuddy's standing at the door that she has opened for him, waiting for him to go through first. He immediately gestures for her to go before him, chivalry and common sense rules. He tries to limp as little as possible but by now his ankle is sending hot throbbing pulses of pain throughout his leg and foot. He turns around and locks his door before he accompanies her to the elevator.

Once they both walk into it, she presses the button for the main floor and turns to him. "You aren't driving home. I'll drive you in your car." She tells him in a no-nonsense, you're an idiot type of voice. He looks at her wondering how she'll get home. "Lucas drove me back so he'll be following behind in my car to take me home." She replies, answering his unasked question with ease.

The elevator chimes and the doors open allowing them to exit the elevator and meet up with Lucas who was waiting patiently by the Help Desk.

Lucas smiles upon seeing them. "Hey Wilson, how you doing?" he asks.

"Hey Lucas. I'm good, how are you?" Wilson replies returning the other man's smile with ease. He's glad that Cuddy has Lucas. He genuinely likes the guy.

"I'm good, but you aren't." Lucas replies in his usual talking before thinking way.

Wilson just chuckles. He's used to bluntness and sometimes welcomes it. "I'll be fine." He states before they split up with Cuddy taking his car and Lucas heading to hers.

Getting into the car is a circus trick that Wilson finally manages to figure out since his right leg can't hold too much weight. Cuddy waits for him to close the door and put his seatbelt on. "Ready?" she asks.

Wilson breathes a heavy sigh. "Yes I am." He declares while she starts heading towards House and Wilson's home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

The drive home was quick and quiet. Cuddy apparently understood that Wilson desired silence and therefore offered nothing but. He did catch her glancing at him every so often, probably trying to gauge how he was doing, but he ignored it, pretending he didn't notice.

They arrived at the front door in no time and Wilson gently climbed out of the car while Cuddy exited her side and came over to him. "Do you need any help getting in?"

"No, I'll be ok. Really, all this wasn't necessary but I do appreciate it." He told her sincerely.

"Of course it was important and not just for the health of other drives but more importantly for yours. If it hurts to put weight on your ankle you shouldn't be walking on it." She reasoned.

He smiled warmly, "Well thanks for your concern for the drivers. I'm sure the New Jersey police are quite grateful." He jokes.

She laughs and pulls him into a gently hug and hands him back his keys. "Have a good night Wilson and feel better. Let me know if you won't be in tomorrow."

"I'm sure I will be. It's just a mild sprain." He replies before she heads over to the car that Lucas is in and slides in. He watches them leave before he limped towards the front door.

Wilson opens door and drops his briefcase in shock. The entire place is immaculately clean from floor to ceiling. It definitely wasn't like that when he left this morning. House isn't necessarily one to clean, leaving Wilson to do it by himself but with his back being bad he hasn't had a chance to in a couple of days and with House, that lets things pile up.

His attention is quickly drawn to the kitchen by the smell of garlic, basil, tomatoes and peppers. He drops his stuff onto the armchair and limps over to the kitchen, holding on to the wall to take as much weight off his ankle as possible.

He walks in to see House in a fairly nice pair of jeans, a button down shirt and an apron. His cane is leaning up against the counter with the sink and he's limping around the kitchen retrieving things from the refrigerator. Wilson notices that Ol' Blue Eyes is on in the background, crooning his way through "Fly Me to the Moon".

Despite the pain from his ankle and the uncomfortable twinges in his back, Wilson feels himself relax for the first time since walking in to work this morning.

House turns around from the stove, smiling a wide smile that reaches his eyes, warming them. "Ah, you're home." He says as he limps over to Wilson and gathers him up for a deep and passionate kiss. "Good. What do you think of Osso Buco for dinner? I hope you're for it because I've already got it mostly made."

Wilson just stood there with his mouth agape. "What- you- how?" he stuttered, completely lost for words.

"I wanted to make you dinner and while I was at it decided that I'd clean up a bit. Well, actually I hired someone to clean up because I wasn't going to be able to do it all and I wasn't about to try either." House explained.

"So, you leaving early because your leg hurt was a lie?" Wilson asked, putting things together almost instantly. He wasn't angry about House lying to him, in fact he was quite touched by it.

"Yep! Though, my leg does actually hurt it's just no worse than normal." House replied with a grin. "You should change into something more comfortable, dinner will be ready soon." He proceeded to ramble while he chopped some red peppers.

Wilson didn't have much else to say so he did as he was told, the process taking far longer than normal but it was quite nice to be in a comfortable pair of jeans and a button down shirt that doesn't have the smell of the hospital on it. He limped back into the kitchen. "Do you need any help?" he asked.

"Nope!" House replied while he placed a lid on top of a pot. Wilson quickly realized that he didn't recognize the pot. "You should go sit down on the couch and get your ankle up."

"How did you know about that?" Wilson asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"I have spies everywhere." House replied maniacally.

"Chase told you didn't he?" Wilson asked, once again his mind quickly filling in the pieces of the puzzle.

"Yep! Who do you think called Cuddy?" House asked. "Now go sit down on the couch and get your ankle up, I'll be there in a minute to take a look at it."

Wilson once again did as he was told but only because sitting down REALLY sounded good at the moment. He all but collapsed on their couch and grabbed one of the pillows, placing it on the coffee table before he gently laid his ankle on top.

He settled back on the couch, allowing it to engulf him in soft comfort, and closed his eyes. He felt a hand gently caress his face. He opened his eyes to see House sitting on the coffee table, his blue eyes full of concern.

"How are you doing?" House asked genuinely.

At that tone Wilson knew he wouldn't be able to lie to his partner. "I'm alright. My back is sore but not bad and my ankle and foot are throbbing."

House nodded. "I brought an ice pack over with me but first I want to inspect them." He said right as he gently grabbed Wilson's leg, right in the middle of the calf, and steered it onto his leg, placing in right at his knee.

House carefully took the sock off, something Wilson hadn't bothered doing since he hated walking around the house barefoot unless he physically couldn't put his socks on. House winced as the sock revealed a well sized bruise starting just below Wilson's pinkie toe and snaking along and up to where his foot arches and another bruise was forming on his ankle. Both were swollen, though House had a feeling that the foot swelling was due to the ankle sprain.

He examined Wilson's ankle and foot, feeling his heart clench whenever Wilson let out a hiss, groan or grunt of pain. House grabbed the compression bandage that he had brought with him and started to wrap Wilson's ankle before he gently replaced it back on the pillow and placing an ice pack on top of it.

House grabbed Wilson's hand and squeezed. "I'm sorry." He said.

Wilson had been watching House while he examined his ankle, feeling his annoyance at House's attack ebb away completely when he observed House's look of concern and guilt as he did so.

He sat there staring at his best friend and quite possibly the only person who, besides his family, he has ever truly loved. He saw the depths of guilt, pain and remorse in those ocean eyes. Wilson placed his other hand on top of House's and squeezed. "It's ok." He replies, knowing that the apology was for more than the sprained ankle.

* * *

They made small talk, well small for them, while they ate. They sat at the kitchen table instead of the couch with each man using and extra chair for his injured limb. The meal was amazingly good and the wine went wonderfully with it.

Once the dishes had been cleared away, House came back and sat back down, staring at Wilson. "Why didn't you tell me you had a weak ankle?" he asked.

Wilson nearly choked on his sip of wine. The condition itself wasn't a secret it had just been so out of the blue that he wasn't expecting it. "House, you know my medical history." He replied.

"Yes I do, but it says nothing of a weak right ankle." House countered.

"It wasn't a big deal, I figured I'd wait til it came up." Wilson defended. "What made you think of it?" he asked.

"When I can injure your ankle by whacking your foot, it sends up flags." House replied. "If I had knowing I wouldn't have hit you on that side."

"Hm, now here's a thought. Why don't you try not hitting me with your cane at all." Wilson suggested, growing a little bit more annoyed that House finds it ok to hit him with the cane at all. He's always done it, every since he had the cane, but that doesn't meant that Wilson had liked it, he just tolerated it.

"How else would I wake you?" House asked, feigning innocence.

"Try shaking me awake or kissing me. Kissing me is a wonderful way to wake me up." Wilson suggested.

"But then you might have morning breath or something. Yuck!" House protested.

"House." Wilson growled out a warning to let the other man know he wasn't playing around.

"Alright, fine. Next time I'll try kissing you instead of whacking you with my cane." House replied petulantly. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic!" Wilson exclaimed as he stood up and began to limp towards the bedroom.

"Wilson."

That one word stopped him mid limp. The pleading and apology in the tone making it hard for him to walk away mad. He awkwardly turned around, leaning against the wall.

Instead of an apology House says, "You should let me help you to the bedroom. You've got a grade II sprain and shouldn't put any weight on it for a couple of days at the least."

Wilson nodded tiredly allowing House to pull his right arm over the older man's left shoulder. Wilson hadn't wanted to lean on House as much as he did but after the break off his feet, his ankle didn't seem to want to take any weight on it even though he tried forcing it to take some.

They made it to the bedroom where House left Wilson to crawl in and get comfortable while he went and grabbed some Aleve and the ice pack.

Wilson slid onto bed after changing into sweatpants and a t-shirt. He had wanted to crawl under the covers but having the weight of the blankets being forced to allow 2 pillows as well as a leg would hurt and he decided he'd just grab the blanket from the armchair beside the bed and sleep with that. He grabbed the two pillows House had apparently placed in there beforehand and put them in place and slipped his throbbing ankle on top of them, laying his own head down on his pillow.

House came in carrying a bottle of water, Aleve and an ice pack. He handed Wilson the water and Aleve while he placed the ice pack on Wilson's ankle and threw the blanket over the younger man.

House proceeded to get changed into sweats and a shirt, popped a few Vicodin and climbed in bed, cuddling up with Wilson. Even though he'd never tell Wilson this, every time he held the younger man in his arms it felt like he had the world. He felt like he could fly without wings, fix all the wrongs and never be harmed. And every time he let go it felt like reality came crashing down, obliterating him.

He pulled Wilson as close as he could, careful of the pressure he placed on him. He'd hurt his friend enough in the passed few days, he didn't need to do any more damage.

Wilson felt House pull himself closer and he relished in the feel of House against him. He knew that House loved him more than anyone he's ever known and that HE was one of House's most prized possessions even if Wilson wasn't something to own, he was House's in every way, shape and form. He knew it and he loved it. He loved House body and soul and that was what kept him around.

* * *

_**~fin~**_

_**AN: Well, that's it everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the story. I might be tempted to do a sequel or continue the story but only if I have enough requests, otherwise I think I ended it pretty well. PLEASE Review and let me know what you think, I love reading them!  
**_


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